Potentially one of my favourite sights in Sevilla…

Standing over the city looking a bit like a giant mushroom from below, this impressive monument is the largest wooden structure in the world.

Six years ago, the site was destined to become a parking garage when ancient Roman and Moorish ruins were discovered during some initial digging. No longer able to put in the garage, officials held a competition to develop a cultural site instead. This winning design by German architect Jürgen Mayer-Hermann, el metropol parasol, was completed in March 2011 and apparently its construction caused much controversy.

From large concrete bases the wooden honeycombs create this series of six parasols. The plaza now houses a museum, a farmers market, an open public space, a restaurant and bar, and the fabulous undulating promenade above the city. Today, it is popularly known as Las Setas de la Encarnación, and offers some of the best views of the city centre.